Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart

- Gibran


New York

10am

Amidst the bustling streets of New York, a sleek black Porsche pulled up smoothly in front of a skyscraper. Naturally, New Yorkers hurrying to work spared an appreciative glance at the rich man's toy. With a rich click, the door swung open and a man stepped out, walking with cool casualness toward the Shield Corp. building.

"Good morning Mr. Shield" A brunette woman behind the secretary counter greeted, "A fax came in yesterday; Mr. Whitely would like to clarify the dates you specified in your last meeting"

Shield nodded, his beautiful lips curving into a sinful smile before going into his office.

Lita Beverly silently berated herself for being so foolish. Lita sighed, she knew Darien was bad news but he was so…charming. Beautiful in every sense; thick silky raven hair always tousled with the right amount of casual disdain, bewitching midnight blue eyes and smooth tanned skin. He truly was an Adonis.

She sought his attention ever since she laid eyes on him. She cringed when flashbacks of what she did came into mind. She would wear short skirts that teetered on the edge of being named inappropriate for a secretary, cancel calls from previous lovers, and bring him coffee everyday from the café in the lobby.

After two months, she got what she wanted. A five minute fling in his office; he even had the balls to bring his new lady friend the next day she thought bitterly.

Today she was wearing long pants.

---

Presently, on the other side of New York City

JFK International Airport, Queens.

Large baby blue eyes scanned through the sea of welcoming relatives and friends.

The immigration terminal was impeccably clean, with simple modern black tiles and pristine white walls; the massive immigration hall was lit garishly by fluorescent lights. John F. Kennedy International airport was ultra modern in comparison to Sydney Airport's worn blue carpets… which Serenity had left just yesterday.

A man in a smart black suit standing against the glass railings held a white card with 'Dearborn' in bold black letters scribbled on it. Serenity picked up both her bags and walked toward the stranger.

"Miss Serenity Dearborn?"

Serenity nodded, exhausted from travelling a 24 hour non-stop flight. Just yesterday, she was on the other side of the world; in Australia.

"My name's Jeff. Right this way," The chauffeur beckoned her to hand him over her bags "Let me carry those for you"

The pair winded through the mass of people and went through the public entrance. There was an elegant black Mercedes parked quietly by the curb, which Serenity assumed was the transport her father had organized for her. The chauffer hurried down the pavement and popped the boot open. After placing her bags into the back he opened the door for her.

Serenity sat quietly in the centre of the backseat, she watched distantly through the back window, as blurs of green and grey passed her by. Out of habit, her slender hand combed through her golden brown hair.

"You're dropping me off at Jackson's Landing, right?" Serenity's pretty head turned away from the window.

"Yes, ma'am," the chauffer looked at her through the rear view mirror "Jackson's Landing West 54th, it's just ahead"

"Do you know a good place to have dinner?" Serenity asked absently "I haven't had a decent meal the whole day"

She had bad experiences with aeroplane food, but this trip, she had given the aeroplane food the benefit of the doubt, and had a bite. She was wrong, it tasted like the plane's assistants had doused the food with a bottle of detergent. In the end, Serenity ate a single pack of biscuits she had purchased at Sydney, for the entire plane trip.

"Ah, it depends; if you're looking for a plain simple meal then you're best off going to that 'Hard Rock Café' it's at Times square so you'll be able to do a bit of shopping afterwards. But if you're looking for more of a …sophisticated joint with really fancy food and the latter, you're best off at the 21 Club"

"I'll think I'll stick with the casual Café" Serenity smiled.

There was a awkward pause before Jeff cleared his throat "Forgive me if I'm intruding but…how old are you?" Jeff asked, his eyes glued to the road "A pretty young girl like yourself shouldn't be out here alone"

Serenity blushed at the compliment, "You sound just like my father! I just turned eighteen. I'm came over here all the way from Sydney"

"Australia? Christ, that's far"

"Yeah, I know. I just finished my finance degree and New York's the 'Finance Capital' so…"

"You're very young for some one who's got a degree," He muttered "Listen, I have no more errands after five, and so if you need a lift, I'd be more than happy to drive you to 'Hard Rock'"

"Thanks. I hate hailing cabs"

"No prob," Jeff Linton smiled to himself, glad that she accepted his offer. It's not that New York's cab drivers acted like outlaws, but there were the occasional bad apples "What time would be a good time to pick you up?"

"Uh… Lets see…" Serenity opened her handbag and took a look at her mobile's clock "It's around one; I need to do a couple of things when I get there so… will seven thirty be alright?"

"Can do"

Just then, a high rise apartment rose into view in front of the car. Ultra modern in design, it was constructed mainly of tinted blue glass supported by white frames with a blood red aluminium façade on the east side, complete with panoramic views of the city.

"I'll pick you up at seven thirty" Jeff confirmed as he walked with Serenity to the lobby. He handed her bags to the valet, "I'll wait for you at the front"

"'Kay, till then" she waved to him and made her way to the Concierge's desk. He cast her one final wistful glance as he walked back to his car.

Serenity, oblivious to his intentions, turned to the Concierge. He didn't look up from his computer but acknowledged her presence with a formal greeting, "Good afternoon, how may I help you?"

"I'm Serenity Dearborn; my father just booked an apartment a few days ago" Serenity said, slightly taken aback at his rude gesture.

"Ah yes, can you please show some proof of identification" The Concierge looked up and started in shock. He had flipped off a stunningly pretty woman and felt a wave of guilt. She had slight curled golden brown hair that reached beyond her shoulders and soft peach skin that was so rare these days.

The Concierge, Phillip, smiled distantly as he remembered his sister complaining to him that the tanning rage was starting to wear thin.

"Can you believe it? I just got a tan last week and look how dark I look!" Cecily whined

"Tough break," Phillip chuckled at his sister's antics "I guess you could always use those whitening creams. I always see those things on TV nowadays"

Cecily snorted looking at him with disbelief; "Those "whitening" creams are just bleaches"

"Here, it's my passport" Serenity put a navy blue pocket-sized booklet on the marble counter.

"An Aussie, eh?" He nodded impressively as he spotted the gold Australian coat of arms embossed on the cover of the passport. He whistled, "That's far"

Serenity sighed, "So I've been told"

"How long was the trip?"

"Twenty four hours, non-stop. I didn't get a single wink of sleep" Serenity yawned cutely to prove her point. Phillip chuckled softly.

"Just sign here and here" he passed a piece of paper over the counter.

Serenity picked up the fountain pen and quickly signed the papers, slightly desperate to get some sleep. The Concierge stapled the papers and handed her a card key.

"Your room is on the 37th floor" he smiled politely and nodded to the valet next to Serenity.

"The elevators are this way, Miss" the valet led her away from the desk and to a warm hall with four elevators on either side.

---

Rose Suite, the Plaza Hotel

4pm

"Please… Darien," A whimpering voice called from behind him. He stiffened with rejection as he heard her helpless sob from the bed.

"This was a one time thing Kate," He said quietly as he turned around to face her, "I thought we settled this matter earlier"

"I-I know. But you don't know how lonely...how lonely I am" She said softly, "Please stay with me Darien"

Darien laughed and raised a sceptical eyebrow, "What happened to the fiancé that women could only dream for?"

Kate smiled bitterly, "All Rob cares for is his business and his money"

"Isn't that the only reason you stay with him?" Darien smirked knowing his comment had hit home.

There was a pregnant pause before Kate looked at him hopelessly, "Yes – But I want to be acknowledged as well, is that too much to ask for?"

"Apparently so" He said dismissively.

Kate watched his retreating back ruefully. Just as he reached the door, she called to him "Darien, don't be mistaken, playing with people's hearts is a dangerous game. One day it'll backfire and to be honest I'll be awfully glad when that happens" She said savagely

His passive and calm demeanour changed instantly, Kate saw this and didn't dare say anything more. The cold, powerful air emanating him began to frighten her.

Slowly, Darien turned around to face her. His midnight blue eyes had turned cold and cruel "Lust is a temptation, one way or another, you'll succumb to it." He said softly "Only the truly noble can resist it. I'm not Prince Charming. Never was, never will be"

With a sadistic smile, he left.